Players Under The Microscope / Ralph Ellis / 02 July 2008 /

The Special One is about to work his first piece of magic at Inter Milan. Some time in the next week or so he will complete the signing of Frank Lampard for a fee of about £7million.

Is that a bargain, or what? Think about it - less than half the fee being offered by Liverpool for Gareth Barry or asked by the Reds for Xabi Alonso. Ok, so Lampard has only a year on his contract left to run which might explain the reduction in his value. And, he's now 30 so is at the back end of his career. But he's still as fit as a fiddle, is a top, top professional, and most of all consistently gets goals. For the last five years he has hit double figures in Premier League goals from midfield, and that includes last season when he played only 23 games. (Barry, incidentally, has just returned his best ever season's haul of League goals with nine - including five penalties!)

Lampard doesn't return from holiday until next week but the signs are growing that he has already played his last game for the Blues. This morning's Daily Express quotes at great length a 'friend' of the England star who says he is disillusioned and ready to go after seven years at the club. New manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has not yet made contact with Lampard but has signed Deco as a potential replacement. And according to the source 'Frank is totally disillusioned by it all. If Scolari had the time to approve the Deco deal, and if he really wanted Frank to be the lynchpin of his team as has been said, then why has he not contacted him? Frank feels completely let down by the club.'

Lampard's contract talks have been a saga throughout last season, and are no nearer to getting completed. Given his special relationship with Jose Mourinho the attraction of a move to Milan is pretty obvious.

Meanwhile, in the Daily Mirror, John Cross reports that Inter have been quietly briefing chosen reporters in the Italian media that they have done a deal with Chelsea for Lampard. They are ready to follow that up with a four-year contract worth a staggering £24million in total - that's £115,000 a week if you need help with the maths!

So what does all this mean? For a start it makes Inter Milan a certainty to retain the Scudetto which they have won for the past three seasons. They are currently trading at [2.34] and it might be the last chance you get to back them at better than evens. More significantly it is a pointer to what they might achieve when the Champions League gets underway.

It was the dream of success in Europe rather than at home which persuaded Inter Milan to move on from Roberto Mancini and bring in Mourinho. And the deal for Lampard will underline how richly the club are willing to back their new boss in the transfer market. There will inevitably be other signings to follow. Inter are [9.8] to collect the big old trophy for the first time in 33 years and that looks a bet to take now - even if you want to lay it off at a shorter price and lock in profit later in the campaign.

Five things you didn't know about Frank Lampard:

1. He got an A star in his Latin GCSE (It's 2,000 years to late to use that language in Italy!)

2. His League debut was not for West Ham but for Swansea while on loan in October 1995 against Bradford

3. You knew he holds the Premier League records for consecutive appearances. You probably didn't remember it is 164 games.

4. His two dogs, French mastiffs, are called Daphne and Rocco

5. He has two daughters, three-year-old Luna and Isla born in May last year. Luna was the name chosen by the Beckhams if Cruz had been a girl.

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